Tolstoi for the young: Select tales from Tolstoi

VIII

And Ivan lived at home, supporting his father and mother and working in the fields with his deaf and dumb sister.

One day Ivan’s yard-dog fell sick. He grew mangy, and was near dying. Ivan pitied it. He took a piece of bread from his sister, put it in his cap, carried it out and threw it to the dog. The creases in his cap parted and out rolled one of the little roots with the bread. The dog ate it up. As soon as it had swallowed the root it began to jump about and bark and play and wag its tail. It was quite well again.

“You pity a beggar-woman, yet have no pity for the King’s daughter,” they reproached him.

“You must be my son-in-law,” he said.

“Where are you going to, you fool?”

“Very well,” Ivan said.

“Very well,” Ivan said. And he took the little root out of his cap, gave it to the beggar-woman and told her to swallow it. As soon as she swallowed it, she recovered, and began to wave her hand.

“Very well,” Ivan said, “I will go.”

“To cure the King’s daughter.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, and drove away.

“I heard that you can cure the sick,” she said. “Cure my hand, for I cannot even put on my own shoes.”

“How did you cure the dog?” they asked.

“But you have nothing to cure her with now.”

The father and mother were amazed.

The father and mother came out to bid good-bye to Ivan, and they heard that he had given away his last root and had nothing left with which to cure the King’s daughter, and they began to scold him.

The King was overjoyed. He ordered Ivan to be brought to him, and dressed him in fine clothes.

It happened at the time that the King’s daughter fell ill, and the King proclaimed to every town and village that he would reward any man who could cure her, and that if he were an unmarried man he should have her for his wife. The news came to Ivan’s village.

He came to the King’s palace, and as soon as he stepped over the threshold the King’s daughter got well.

But Ivan was sorry for the King’s daughter. He harnessed the mare, threw some straw into the cart and got in.

And the father and mother summoned Ivan and said to him, “Have you heard of the King’s promise? You told us you had a little root that could cure any sickness; go, cure the King’s daughter, you will then be happy for life.”

And Ivan said, “I had two little roots that could cure any pain, and the dog swallowed one.”

And Ivan prepared himself for the journey, and they dressed him in his best clothes. When he came out on the doorstep he saw a beggar-woman with a crippled hand.

And Ivan married the princess. Her father died soon after, and Ivan became King.

All three brothers were now kings.